Futurism

We saw the big Futurism show at the Guggenheim.  It was very interesting.   Futurism, of course, is problematic.  Any movement that starts with a manifesto proclaiming love for war and contempt for women (literally), then collaborates with fascists, and ends up in advertising is very suspect.  But sometimes you have to ignore the endless manifestoes and movements and look at what they do.  (Why is it that so many visual artists feel the need to form groups with labels?  It's bad enough that the critics do it.)   The virtue of the Guggenheim's exhibit, for me, is that it follows in a very comprehensive way from the familiar paintings of the pre World War I period all the way up to the death of Marinetti in 1944.   There are a number of artists about whom I knew very little, and a lot of work in different media.  For example, I had no idea that Diaghilev in 1925 had commissioned the futurist artist Balla to create an abstract stage work for a performance of Stravinsky's "Fireworks".  The performance fell apart, apparently due to both technical and union problems.  It was also interesting to think about the early Futurist works in connection some very similar works in the Expressionist and Cubist movements.  And there were these wonderful murals painted by Benedetta (a female artist, so much for manifestoes) for a conference room at the Palermo Post Office.

And the drawings by Antonio Sant'Elia; an architect whose buildings were never built..

The Guggenheim is still problematic at times as a venue for viewing art.  Some of the

 smaller paintings cannot be seen closeup because they are on walls too far away, and

 several paintings were impossible to look at because of reflections from the lighting. 

Strauss

We decided to go hear an all Strauss concert, performed by the Munich Philharmonic, conducted by Gergiev as a last minute replacement.   Gergiev, who eats Wagner operas for breakfast, had flown in that morning from Europe, and would fly back the next morning.  And, despite the last minute change, there were protestors in front of Carnegie Hall, protesting Gergiev's support for Putin's treatment of gay Crimeans, or something like that.  (It's worth googling to find Gergiev's conducting schedule; for most of the later half of April, he is conducting 2 concerts a day, sometimes in different cities.  Don't know how he does it.)

I don't like the music of Richard Strauss; or more precisely, I don't really get it.  The performance of "Also Sprach Zarathustra", didn't do much for me.  The harmony doesn't really appeal to my ears (while Vera rhapsodized over the augmented chords), and I find his phrasing consistently muddled.  And philosophy in music is problematic for me as well; I don't get the narrative.   "Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks", on the other hand, was a delight.  It really is the progenitor of all cartoon music, I think, with its rapid shifts of texture and mood, and virtuosic, kaleidoscopic orchestration.   Even the "tragic" moments have that air of cartoon tragedy, like when Wily Coyote is flattened and then starts up again.   Which makes me think of the other thing that happens when I listen to Strauss; I constantly hear the various tropes that film composers over the years have abused to no end.  I'm talking about you, John Williams.  Not Strauss's fault, though.

Welcome Back to New York

We arrived in New York on a late flight on a Wednesday night.  In a taxi at about 1:30 AM, we got stuck in some sort of traffic jam on the west side.   The next morning, I went out; walking down our street, I immediately got pooped on by a pigeon.   I do love New York!

Update; later in the week, on a Monday evening, we sat outside for a drink.   On Tuesday evening, we emerged from one of our favorite places, the Brandy Library, to discover that it was snowing, hard, and blowing sideways.  In April.